FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
COLTS HEAD COACH FRANK REICH
Jaguars vs. Colts
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022
FRANK REICH: Okay. Never expect to be sitting here, you know, having this moment right now, not like this. You know, we had a good week of practice. We had good preparation, all week long. Felt good energy the whole week, every day, every meeting. Felt like we had three good plans. Felt like the players were dialed in, and we just didn’t get it done today. We just didn’t get it done, coaching or playing. I give a lot of credit to Jacksonville, a lot of credit to that football team. We knew. That’s not a surprise that we got their A game. That is not a surprise. So, credit to them and their coaches and their players. They did a good job. I’ll open it up.
Q. Walk us through what happened the last two weeks.
FRANK REICH: I don’t know. That’s what I just said in the locker room was, you know, I don’t have that answer right now. I don’t have that answer right now. Got to reflect on that. What I said in there was, you know, just learn, and grow from – how we started the way we started. It was out of our hands. We fought and scratched and clawed to get it back in our hands. And then last two weeks of the season, we did what we did. Starts with me as the head coach. And we’ve got to figure out how we can close this season out the right way; how we can coach better, how we can play better. You know, we had the opportunity by control of our own destiny and just didn’t get it done.
Q. Offense didn’t do anything until very late. How would you evaluate Carson [Wentz] today? FRANK REICH: Yeah. I’m not going to evaluate any individual, any one performance individually, until I watch the film. And then you guys know how I am there. I mean, I’m not going to give an open critique of every player. You know, we just got to be better. We got to be better in all three phases, coaching and playing. I credit them. I credit Jacksonville and, you know, we need to be better.
Q. You said you weren’t talking about any individual players, but your offensive line, six sacks. I believe that’s a season high. Jacksonville had an additional 10 quarterback hits out there. That group just seemed like they couldn’t get any type of continuity going against Jacksonville’s defense. FRANK REICH: Yeah. They came out and played hard and played well. And, you know, it just — started that way the game started, it couldn’t have started any worse for us. We couldn’t execute on offense. We couldn’t convert a third down or a fourth down. And then it seemed like they converted everything. And it seemed like Trevor [Lawrence] was hot. And he was making every play, and we weren’t making plays. And it was on both sides of the ball. So, it felt like we were trying to climb out of a hole the whole day and just never really got into any rhythm.
Q. Frank, as JT [Jonathan Taylor] took over late in the season, teams have designed their defenses to stop him, especially the last two weeks. They held him in check for the most part. The passing game
couldn’t do its part, wasn’t able to step up. Was that a fair assessment? You take a lot of pride in the passing game. Where does that fall on your shoulders in terms of how disappointing is that? FRANK REICH: Yeah. I mean, it all falls on my shoulders. I’m the head coach. But, specifically, to your question, Zak [Keefer] — I’m not trying to dodge the question. Yeah, we knew that would happen. And teams have stacked the box. And there were a couple of weeks where that was happening, and JT [Jonathan Taylor] was still having very productive days. And I would probably argue and say he was even — when it got harder and we failed to have the — you know, ripping off, you know, 150, 200 yards, he was still being productive and still helping us, you know, offensively. And, yeah, in the pass game, we just haven’t been good enough. We weren’t good enough the second half of the year really it felt like to me. We never really got into a rhythm. So that starts with me. It’s obviously a group effort by all of us. But I know we can be better, have a — you know, we have a lot of years of being very productive in the pass game. I’m not saying that to minimize how poor it was in the last couple weeks or last half of the season, however, that looks. But I’m confident we can figure that part out.
Q. I know that expression you’re not the general manager of the team, all those things, but just generally, very broadly, can you acknowledge when you have a season end like this it causes re evaluation of pretty much everything? You? Everybody? Right? Is that a fair assessment? FRANK REICH: Yeah. I mean, it’s the NFL (National Football League). This is the highest level there is. So we’re all — it’s all day-to-day stuff. So, we love that about this business. I love that about this business. I never back away from that or shy away from that. As a coach, for the players, you know, you put your best stuff out there. And if it’s good enough, they want you back. If it’s not good enough, they don’t want you back. But as a player or as a coach, you’ve got so much confidence in yourself that you feel like I’m good, you know. If something didn’t work out the way you quite wanted it one year, you’ve got confidence that you’re going to put it out there the next year, whatever the case may be. I just think that’s the way most players and coaches think, to be honest with you. Yeah. It ends like this with two weeks back-to-back. And all those things that you’re saying, Stephen [Holder], are very true and very fair.
Q. Speaking of the passing game, Michael Pittman has been so consistent for you guys this year so for him to not have a target in the first half, was there something they were doing to take him out of there or what did you notice out there?
FRANK REICH: Just felt like we just didn’t have a ton of snaps. We weren’t converting. We weren’t converting. And then, you know, I mean, they just — they took them away a couple of times and just didn’t go his way. And, you know, we just didn’t make enough first downs. When you don’t move the ball, when you don’t make first downs, nobody’s going to get touches or targets, no one is going to get enough. And that was really the story of much of the game but especially the first half. We weren’t generating any offense. They were. They were possessing — felt like they were possessing the ball, making first downs. And then when we got it, we didn’t help ourselves. Poor on third down. Missed a couple fourth downs that we never should miss. So that goes back to coaching and playing.
Q. You mentioned the passing game in the second half of the season. You went out and said you wanted Carson [Wentz] as quarterback. If you look at his production as far as getting things done in the passing game, did he do enough to show that he could be a long-term guy? FRANK REICH: I think Carson did a lot. I mean, I think we’re a team. I think he’s our quarterback. And, you know, I think we’re all going to learn and grow from this year, you know, how to utilize every player that we have to the fullest. I think there were a lot of bright moments for him, for Carson. So, again, I’m not going to go deep into individual assessment. But I certainly think when you look at the overall year, there was a lot of bright spots on this team in general. There’s still a lot of positives that you take from it. The one thing I will say that I said in the locker room is you got to have the maturity to understand that even though there could be a finality to this season, you can’t just let it be in vain. You can’t let it be in vain. You’ve got to learn from it. And you’ve got to figure out, okay, why did we finish the way we did this year and then let’s not let that happen next year. So, when you get back up to that spot on the mountain next year, hey, remember we were here last year. Remember what happened? That’s not happening this year. That’s the kind of stuff I think that we have to do.
Q. Frank, you guys climbing from 0 and 3 and 1 and 4 to get your spot. After the Cardinals game, you had two games to win and didn’t get it done. As the head coach, is this the most disappointing you’ve felt after a game in your four years here?
FRANK REICH: Probably so. Probably so. I mean, it’s pretty disappointing, you know, the last two games. Last week was pretty hard, but just never expected it. Like I said, I thought — I knew last week wasn’t the best of weeks, you know, for a couple different — I don’t really ever feel like that, but last week was a little bit off. And this week was back to normal. We were humming and great practice, great energy from top to bottom in every way. So was not expecting this.
Q. Are you scoreboard watching now or what’s the next couple of hours look like? FRANK REICH: I mean, I wasn’t. I will let Matt [Conti] fill me in on details. That’s out of our control.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
COLTS QB CARSON WENTZ
Jaguars vs. Colts
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022
Q. I’m sure you are full of emotions. You guys came a long way in the wrong direction. CARSON WENTZ: Yeah. It sucks, honestly, you know, walking off kind of in disbelief. It’s hard to fully reflect on everything right now. It all happened so fast. But just even thinking back just to where we came from, [we] dug ourselves out of a hole. You know, we were in control of our destiny. And then the last two weeks just didn’t get it done. It hurts right now. A lot of reflection to come over the next handful of days, unfortunately. But, yeah, it’s not a good feeling right now.
Q. How would you characterize the performance of your offense the last couple of weeks? It never looked like you guys — when you were at your best this year, it didn’t look like that. CARSON WENTZ: Yeah. Yeah. It’s hard to put your finger on it right now. You know, I think, like I said, the next couple of days we’ll be able to a little bit more. But, yeah, sluggish. You know, not — not the dynamic, explosive offense that we always thought we were. You know, got to give our hats off to the opposing defenses every time. I’ve got to protect the ball. I’ve got to do a better job. So there’s a lot that could be said and a lot of things to kind of digest right now. But, yeah, it’s a frustrating kind of crappy feeling right now.
Q. What was your initial emotions, reaction once you guys were eliminated from the playoffs? Because, I mean, the reality is, you guys were in the driver’s seat. You needed to one game in the final two of the season and you guys couldn’t get it done.
CARSON WENTZ: Yeah. It’s a bad feeling, completely bad feeling knowing that, you know, we were in control, being in control of our destiny last two weeks and, I mean, we just couldn’t get it done. It’s definitely left a bad taste in my mouth and a lot of guys’ mouth. [It is] not where we want to be and not what we expected either. You know, we expected to finish stronger than we did. And we didn’t get it done. It’s a bad, bad, bad feeling.
Q. Carson, when the team is set up like this, seven Pro Bowlers, climbing back from the 0-3 and 1-4 start, to blow it the last few weeks with the chances you guys had, everything is going to get evaluated. Do you expect this system the way it’s set up to be in the same spot next year? Do you think you guys can win with everything as it’s set up?
CARSON WENTZ: I think that’s a great question. And it’s still kind of hard to think forward like that. You know, first and foremost, like I’ve been saying, a lot of reflection, a lot of kind of looking into I think everybody as a team but also personally. You know, what could I have done better? I have the utmost confidence in this organization and the players, the way it’s built, the way it’s wired. It’s a great group. It’s a great group, and I have a lot of confidence in it. But right now, it’s hard to kind of fully think forward like that.
Q. Carson, why do you think you weren’t able to get in a groove since the Arizona game, the last five or six weeks?
CARSON WENTZ: That’s a great question. And it’s one I’m going to look long and hard at personally. You know, where could I have been better? What could I have done? You know, today, obviously, I know just protect the football. Those two killed us, especially kind of — we were in a sluggish kind of offense first half. Those opening drives were crucial. I gave it away. Put our defense in a bad position. And that’s all I can really think about right now. And this one today hard to put my finger on why the last couple weeks it’s been kind of slow.
Q. I know you’re always looking at the next play of the game. But as it spiraled out of control today, a 21 point deficit, 24 points, whatever it was. When is the first time you started to think, like, it’s over, this is done, there’s no playoffs?
CARSON WENTZ: I mean, once they got that 4th and 2. I mean, that’s when it’s time to take a knee and it was — it hurt. Obviously, we knew there was little chance there. Came in and figured out what was going on. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take a couple days to really let it sink in. This is not how we envisioned the end of the season going, especially the way we fought and dug ourselves out of the hole the way we did. So this one definitely hurts and it’s going to take time to kind of figure out what the heck happened.
Q. A lot has happened in your career in this job, a lot of change — like you said, you’re going to have to reflect a little bit. What are your initial thoughts when you look back how this whole first year for you went?
CARSON WENTZ: Yeah. It’s been a whirlwind. It’s been a whirlwind for my family, a whirlwind for this team. Obviously, an up and down season as well. A lot of good memories made. A lot of great guys in that locker room, great guys in that organization, men and women. It’s a cool place. I’m grateful to be here. It obviously just wasn’t the finish that we were looking for.
Q. I know you guys didn’t run a ton of plays in the first half. Weren’t able to even attempt to pass to Michael Pittman until the third quarter. Are there things they were doing to take him out of that? Or why was that so hard to get going?
CARSON WENTZ: I’d say partially what they were doing. I don’t know how many total number of plays we had the first half, but it was a weird flow of the game in the first half, unfortunately, yet again. Then we had the two-minute drive that we — I think we went three and out. So that definitely cost us there. So hard to fully say why. But, again, we just had a slow first half, limited opportunities, and we just didn’t get it done.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
COLTS WR T.Y. HILTON
Jaguars vs. Colts
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022
Q. T.Y., you’ve been through a lot this year trying to get back here and then contrast it with the way it ended — how devastating is that?
T.Y. HILTON: It’s very devastating, man, especially knowing the week we had leading up. I mean, we were locked in. We were focused man. It just – they were better than us again down here.
Q. T.Y., why did the passing game struggle so much down the stretch?
T.Y. HILTON: I mean, they did certain things on defense, you know, that — man, I don’t know, man. It’s tough, man. It’s tough. It’s tough. They were all over us today.
Q. You obviously faced some good teams in December and showed they could do something in the playoffs. You had two chances the last two weeks to punch a ticket (to the playoffs) and you guys didn’t get it done. Does it feel like loses exposed some flaws? Why is this team not going to be playing next week?
T.Y. HILTON: Because we didn’t play Colts football. And they dominated us on every end today. And I don’t know what it is down here. They just keep on dominating us every time we come here.
Q As you walk through, even though haven’t been officially eliminated, but did you walk off the field, = did you start thinking maybe this is the last time I could wear a Colts uniform? T.Y. HILTON: No. I haven’t – I haven’t thought about it. I’m going to take some time, talk to Jack, and, you know, just go through if I want to play one more year, I can play one more year. If not, then I won’t. So just talk to him, see what he’s feeling. And once he makes his decision, I’ll kind of know what I want to do kind of based on him, whether it’s here, whether it’s somewhere else. So, I’ll make my decision sometime in the off season.
Q. I know this is fresh, but sitting here right now, does this loss change the way you might think about coming back, just the way this ended?
T.Y. HILTON: I wouldn’t say — I pretty much know what I want to do, but I just want to take some time to reflect.
Q. What do you think of the way Carson [Wentz] played in the last four or five games? T.Y. HILTON: I mean, he’s trying to get in his groove, you know, find a groove. He did some really good things. We just — we just behind him, man, no matter what, good or bad. We’re always going to have his back. I just appreciate him, man, appreciate his toughness, his hard work, man, the way he dedicates himself to his craft. He’s good in my book.
Q. Outside of the Arizona game, why do you think he wasn’t able to get in the groove?
T.Y. HILTON: I don’t know. Defense started playing us differently. They started stacking the box. They started doing different things in the perimeter. So, kudos to both of those defenses. They’re great defenses. They just got the better of us two weeks straight.
Q. You’ve talked to your teammates about how other teams need to rise to your level of intensity, not the other way around. Do you feel like that happened this week?
T.Y. HILTON: It didn’t happen the past two weeks. I think we kind of let them dictate what we do. And we didn’t go out there and physically dominate both of those games. And they kind of jumped on us early — both games we got jumped out on early. And we kind of started inching back. And then by then, you know, the momentum was already on the other side.
COLTS C RYAN KELLY
Jaguars vs. Colts
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022
Q. Do you have any thoughts on the last two weeks?
RYAN KELLY: Yeah. I think it started when we couldn’t get the run game generated the last two weeks. We pride ourselves on doing that. So I guess we’ll have to go back to the drawing board because I just felt like we couldn’t get anything going. [We] couldn’t get momentum going. We didn’t play well – just seemed like there was a block here. We just couldn’t get on the same page and certainly a disappointing
way to end the season.
Q. Did you think you guys would be here right now? You came so far. You were in control. RYAN KELLY: Yeah. It’s kind of a shock to everybody. There’s not many words to describe it. So certainly every loss hurts. But coming here and controlling your own destiny in the last two weeks of the season, to go in and not handle your business is a sting that will hurt for a long time.
Q. You guys have seven Pro Bowlers. You had two shots the last two weeks. Is it disappointing? Is it shock? Why is this team not playing well?
RYAN KELLY: I think we can only look at ourselves for that, you know. We certainly have the talent. We have the leadership in the room to do it, in every room. We just didn’t do it. And I’m sure that will be speculated on, and we’ll look at everything that we can look at to figure it out. But I think, ultimately, we just got beat today. We got beat against the Raiders. So as hard as that is to say after some of the big, the monster wins that we’ve had, for a season to end this way after all that we’ve gone through, where we started off at and digging ourselves such a big hole and to climb out of that, to get back on top and top of the Wild Card in the AFC to mess up the last two games, it hurts, man. So I don’t know.
Q. You talk about the run game. But six quarterback sacks. I think Jacksonville had an additional 10 individual quarterback hits. It seemed like it was uncharacteristic for you. Was it a matter of their will wanting more of it up front?
RYAN KELLY: I’m sure we’ll go back and look at it. When we can’t get the run game going, I think teams understand who we are. We’re run emphasis first and we have to be better in the pass game. But, yeah, I don’t know. I wouldn’t say they were bringing a lot of blitzes or anything like that. So, yeah. [I am] kind of speechless on that answer, to be honest with you. I don’t know. [We] just didn’t play good enough.
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COLTS LB DARIUS LEONARD
Jaguars vs. Colts
Postgame Media Availability
Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022
Q. What’s your reaction to the loss and being eliminated from the playoffs?
DARIUS LEONARD: My first reaction is it just sucks, you know, when you think about everything that you’ve been through the whole season, starting with off season. Then, you know, just battling through the things that we battled through, personal, individual guys, you know, battling through injuries. And then, you know, go on the run and to end the way that we did, you know, it sucks. As of right now, that’s all it is. It sucks. We came down here and just flat out got dominated. You know, it just sucks.
Q. Can you put a finger on why this team came out so flat when so much was on the line today? DARIUS LEONARD: I wish I could put my finger on it. I just don’t know. I just feel like they came out swinging. We kind of just got hit in the mouth, you know what I’m saying, and we didn’t adjust accordingly. We didn’t do enough defensively. We didn’t get off the field. We didn’t have any turnovers. We didn’t do enough defensively to win a ball game and I just put all the pressure on me. I didn’t do enough. I don’t know exactly what I could put my finger on. I’ve got to watch the tape and actually see exactly what really went wrong.
Q. What’s the mood in the locker room? Is there more disappointment or shock that it ended like this?
DARIUS LEONARD: Disappointment. You know, just coming out having everything in front of you. Everybody’s just disappointed. [We] didn’t do enough. That’s what it always just comes down to. Defensively, [we] just didn’t do enough, just disappointed at that. [We] didn’t find a way to take the ball away, didn’t find a way to get off the field.
Q. You mentioned all you did to get back from your ankle injury. To have the chance to make the playoffs, is this loss impossible to understand and just swallow at this point?
DARIUS LEONARD: Yeah. Yeah. Just kind of just thinking back to everything that I’ve been through this whole season and battling just to go out here to just play this game and for it to end the way it did. You know, it sucks because, I mean, battling through injuries, [to] have everything right in front of you and you want to make a run. You think you have a team to make a run, and it just didn’t come out that way it sucks. It sucks, especially knowing how much you put in this game, how much time away from the building you try to make sure your body is right. You do this thing because you love the game, you have the passion for it. You want to be out there for your teammates, and it sucks. It sucks right now.
Q. Does this game change your outlook on the season overall?
DARIUS LEONARD: No. No. I still believe in every one of those guys that’s in that room. I’d go to war with those guys any day of the week no matter what it is, no matter where we’re at. I’m going to stand up behind them no matter what and I know they’d do the same for me. Yes, we didn’t do what we were supposed to do, but they’re still my boys. We’re still teammates and we’re still going to stick up for each other no matter what.
Q. You guys mentioned how you didn’t want to have a repeat of what happened against Las Vegas. With the way the team started, were you just in disbelief that you knew what was on the line but couldn’t get it done?
DARIUS LEONARD: No. In my mind, I don’t. They got out and they scored the first drive. I went to the sideline and said, ‘We’re good. They’re not getting another first down.’ It’s just a mindset. I don’t think that at that moment when they scored at first my mind went back to, oh, snap, you know? I think it didn’t go there until the fourth quarter. Once it got close to four minutes and we’re down 23, 25 points, that’s when I’m like, snap, this is about to be the end of it. That’s when it kind of set in, and to see them out there in victory formation, that’s a feeling you don’t want to be in.
Q. What were you thinking at the end of the game?
DARIUS LEONARD: [I was] just heartbroken, same thing I told them. I thanked those guys for helping me be a better man, helping me be a better leader. I flat out just told them just all the things that I’ve been through, my ups and my downs this season. This season’s been by far one of the toughest seasons for me dealing with off the field issues, you know, just nonsense stuff that I have to deal with, then the ankle. Then, just putting it all on the line and having it end the way that it did, that just hurts me the most. I’m a true competitor, ultimate competitor. For them to come out and do what they did against us, and in my mind, we were the better team, and today, we didn’t show that. Now we’re sitting here where we’re sitting. It just sucks. I told the guys that no matter what, I’ve got their back no matter what. It’s going to hurt. We’re going to sit here. We’re going to soak this in and then hopefully we just use it, use is at fuel.
Q. Were you able to watch the end of any of the other games in the locker room? DARIUS LEONARD: No. I just lost. I’m not looking for no other game. You’re tired of looking for help. Why are we looking for help when we can’t help our self? That’s what I think about. We go into a game, this team is 2 -14. Not taking away anything from them, but how do we expect to win or want to be in if we can’t even beat the teams we’re supposed to beat? That’s what it is. If this is our last stop here, I just hope guys really just this off season take the time and just realize what we had in front of us and let this feeling just burn through their heart and go out and have the best offseason possible and just train to be the best and just out work absolutely everybody. That’s the mindset that I’m going to tell the guys whenever I can, you know, just attack the off season just like you would attack the season. So, when the season comes, we can hit the ground running and we can rock and roll, don’t have a slow start. Hopefully this year, next year, whenever we get back out there, we have an opportunity to go out and perform. We’ve got to perform under pressure, whatever it is.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
